Inner Peace (Through Superior Firepower) – Episode 038

[Goshen]

Did anyone notice that Bart has a navel? Hasn't it been an open question as to whether or not Erfworlders have them, especially since the Maggie/Wanda/Sizemore linkup?

Well, the women have breasts and both sexes seem to have their naughty bits, so why not navels? Even though people are popped not born. It goes with the general theme of Erfworld having the form of many things, but not the function.

I think there was a text update a long time ago when parson was examining the old Gobwin Knob and finding all sorts of things the seemed to exist just for show. Like farms that don't produce food, the rations just pop, but the farm is there to show that the area produces food. Something like that.

[pearl jam]

I didn't mind Kingsworld at all, but I do not like the spy golem thing nor the active 'get busy' spell still in place after the city shifted sides.

The poisoned food is fair game, I guess, but:

If left rations can be poisoned, and if spies/losing sides active stuff is still active/spying when a city changes hands, then I would think this would be common knowledge, and then it seems to me that NO ONE WOULD EAT RATIONS FROM A LOSING SIDE and would know to look out for things like weird spooky eyed mannequins and spies and left over active threats.


Also, clothesrack heard Jillian say 'Faq' and Bart say 'Jillian'. Oops.

Yes, if the company are, in fact, croaked, that would obviously be a severe blow to Faq, but letting that information slip could be even more crucial.

[LTDave]

They can't all be dead. Just sleeping.

That line freaked me out as well. Good writing.
Although I wonder why the dressmakers doll bothered to speak at all. Why not just sit silent and hope they fall asleep somewhere easier to find?

(apart from Narrative reasons...)

[Goshen]

That line freaked me out as well. Good writing.
Although I wonder why the dressmakers doll bothered to speak at all. Why not just sit silent and hope they fall asleep somewhere easier to find?

To freak them out and make them run:

Jack would be impressed. By threatening that she wouldn't make it out, Haffaton made Jillian focus on escape, making her movement more predictable and misdirecting her from the poisoned food.

[Chadim]

Note that the manneqin first spoke after Jillian had announced that they would leave. So Haffaton
surely hoped that Jillian would give in and stay there. Since she didn't want that (without a scare,
they could go anywhere) she scared them into running into a predictable direction.

The "get-busy" spell is not confirmed - and it also might be an attack by one of the plants (amorous
spores or whatever) that were still alive when Faq attacked.

Concerning the poisoned food and nobody thinking about this. Consider that ratios simply pop
usually. They are not something you produce. Erfworlders probably don't know squat about
cooking. So I think it is ok that nobody (without a Flourist) thinks ratios could be bad.

I would think the last line includes Jillian, and means it is a sleeping poison. Still, the cave
might protect them. On the other hand, if I would set up such traps (and Haffaton probably has more such cities),
I would grow spy plants (like Transylvitos spy bats) around such caves - just in case...

[Nimelennar]

I didn't mind Kingsworld at all, but I do not like the spy golem thing nor the active 'get busy' spell still in place after the city shifted sides.

The poisoned food is fair game, I guess, but:

If left rations can be poisoned, and if spies/losing sides active stuff is still active/spying when a city changes hands, then I would think this would be common knowledge, and then it seems to me that NO ONE WOULD EAT RATIONS FROM A LOSING SIDE and would know to look out for things like weird spooky eyed mannequins and spies and left over active threats.


Also, clothesrack heard Jillian say 'Faq' and Bart say 'Jillian'. Oops.

Yes, if the company are, in fact, croaked, that would obviously be a severe blow to Faq, but letting that information slip could be even more crucial.

Hearing "Faq" is not the issue. It's already inevitable that Haffaton will find out that a side named Faq had taken one of Haffaton's cities (as per Episode 36)
Hearing that "Jillian" is Faq's "Chief Warlord?" That might be more of an issue.

[Squall83]

Wow, that update was terrifying. It literally sent chills down my spine.

[Whispri]

Now the question here is: Did they find anything to feed the Gwiffons? 'Cause if they did...

[OneHugeTuck]

Concerning the poisoned food and nobody thinking about this. Consider that ratios simply pop
usually. They are not something you produce. Erfworlders probably don't know squat about
cooking. So I think it is ok that nobody (without a Flourist) thinks ratios could be bad.

If that is true, then a long lived side and an experienced and hardened chief warlord that has seen the world has ever heard of poison, nor of a losing side poisoning their assets to hurt the other side post-croaking. Which I find hard to believe.

P.S. I believe a Flourist would specialize in baked goods/rations.

[Nnelg]

If left rations can be poisoned, and if spies/losing sides active stuff is still active/spying when a city changes hands, then I would think this would be common knowledge, and then it seems to me that NO ONE WOULD EAT RATIONS FROM A LOSING SIDE and would know to look out for things like weird spooky eyed mannequins and spies and left over active threats.

But then if nobody trusted rations from a losing side, why would anyone bother to poison them? Speaking in absolutes like this leads to circular logic; the truth is more complex than any hasty generalization can capture. To me it appears that there's little reason why there should be any more or less suspicion of poison and bugs in captured supplies and rooms on Erf than there is for such things on Earth.

It'd better be poisoned, as opposed to the effect of a spell. If a spell can survive the loss of a city and change of ownership to the conquering side, then nobody would guard their minor cities, they'd just leave something tricky and deadly for whoever conquers it.

If everyone did it, it wouldn't work. The way it works is that one side gets away with it, but then once the secret's out the effect becomes a lot less until everyone's forgotten it, and even then someone from some new generation still has to come up with the "new" idea.

And even if it is the effect of a spell, and even if direct damage spells can also last after cities change hands, once the enemy finds a way to defuse, remotely trigger, or avoid it, there's little point in continuing to place more.

[ftl]

Well, presumably you need the appropriate 'Mancer to poison rations. Rations popping is natural magic or whatever; you can't instruct a city to just pop poisoned rations I think.

I would assume this is the hippiemancer's doing.

[elecampane]

Did anyone notice that Bart has a navel? Hasn't it been an open question as to whether or not Erfworlders have them, especially since the Maggie/Wanda/Sizemore linkup?

He hasn't got nipples, though. Or it could just be an art style.

[Whispri]

This is how Jillian ends up after Faq's fall, alone with her Gwiffons. Funny that.

If left rations can be poisoned, and if spies/losing sides active stuff is still active/spying when a city changes hands, then I would think this would be common knowledge, and then it seems to me that NO ONE WOULD EAT RATIONS FROM A LOSING SIDE and would know to look out for things like weird spooky eyed mannequins and spies and left over active threats.

Also, clothesrack heard Jillian say 'Faq' and Bart say 'Jillian'. Oops.

It's probably quite a rare occurance, the Doll thing must surely require a certain types of magic. While most Sides would likely raze a City instead of poisoning the wells. That said, even if the posion thing was known, it would still be a nuisance for an invader if they were planning to stay.

The real danger here isn't that Haffaton know Jillian's name and that of her Side. It's that they've seen her, in the same armour and colours worn by a certain 'Lady Warlord', in the company of a fresh Warlord in the same armour and colours. If they put two and two together, which they almost certainly will, they'll know she's been reinforced very recently, which means her Side is located either somewhere close to where she was spotted the first time, or somewhere along her route to Diecast. They also know the Side is short of money, that itself may prove to be a problem.

Guess it's not a good idea to eat the fruit of the poisoned tree, after all.

This. Poisoned provisions. Really nasty trap for any invaders. I'm surprised Jillian didn't know about it. You'd think at least one side would have had that happen to them. Maybe another negative side-effect of being a bubble kingdom?

Also, creepy doll spy.

Dead men tell no tales. Also, she probably doesn't talk to Haffaton's neighbours that often, too close to home and all that.

[SteveMB]

Well, that raises the question of how can the city be FAQ's, when there are still enemy units (golems?) in it.

It's possible to take a city when there are enemy units in it; they autopop shackles. In this case... an armless mannequin has no place to put shackles -- maybe units that can't move (even in the sense of "walk across the room") are an exception? Alternatively, maybe the mannequin did autopop shackles but in a less obvious form (again, because of lack of places to put the usual type) that went unnoticed by the otherwise-occupied Jillian and Bart. (Leg shackles concealed by the dress, perhaps?)

[goldenboy]

In the end, Haffaton's love trap might end Haffaton as well. They caught something that's hard to handle

[Whispri]

Well, that raises the question of how can the city be FAQ's, when there are still enemy units (golems?) in it.

It's possible to take a city when there are enemy units in it; they autopop shackles. In this case... an armless mannequin has no place to put shackles -- maybe units that can't move (even in the sense of "walk across the room") are an exception? Alternatively, maybe the mannequin did autopop shackles but in a less obvious form (again, because of lack of places to put the usual type) that went unnoticed by the otherwise-occupied Jillian and Bart. (Leg shackles concealed by the dress, perhaps?)

Not if those Units are in the Garrison. A City falls when the Garrison's last defenders have the life choked out of them. So if the dolly was a Unit something weird occured. Perhaps a Scout exception? If not that (or similar), the City can't have fallen until the moment it was destroyed assuming that thing was a Unit.

[LogicsFate]

Perhaps it was just a magic item. Would be a nice part of the defense to have an item that allowed the dollamancer to see and cast remotely.

Either way, cliffhangers man, cliffhangers forever.

[Whispri]

Perhaps it was just a magic item. Would be a nice part of the defense to have an item that allowed the dollamancer to see and cast remotely.

Either way, cliffhangers man, cliffhangers forever.

Oh sure, its Unit like form may be for psychological purposes only.

And it's raining on her too...

[DoctorJest]

Perhaps it was just a magic item. Would be a nice part of the defense to have an item that allowed the dollamancer to see and cast remotely.

Either way, cliffhangers man, cliffhangers forever.

Oh sure, it's Unit like form may be for psychological purposes only.

I'm sure the form is so it can be used to make raiment, given that a half-finished outfit was already on the thing (be it legitimately an unfinished outfit or for show). And Jillian recognized it as a Dollamancer doll right away, so apparently it's form isn't unusual at all.

[Whispri]

Perhaps it was just a magic item. Would be a nice part of the defense to have an item that allowed the dollamancer to see and cast remotely.

Either way, cliffhangers man, cliffhangers forever.

Oh sure, its Unit like form may be for psychological purposes only.

I'm sure the form is so it can be used to make raiment, given that a half-finished outfit was already on the thing (be it legitimately an unfinished outfit or for show). And Jillian recognized it as a Dollamancer doll right away, so apparently it's form isn't unusual at all.

But why use the dolly instead of a small easily ignored statue or the like?